Process of producing metals.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. GREENE AN WILLIAM H. WAHL', on PHILADELPH A, PENNSYLVANIA.

PROCESS OF PRODUCING METALS.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 688,510, dated December 10, 1901.

Application filed December 14, 1900. I

To ctZZ whom it mag concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM H. GREENE and WILLIAM H. WAHL, citizens of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and 'State of Pennsylvania, have jointly invented a new and useful Process of Producing Metals, of which the following is a specificati0n.

The principal object of our invention is to provide a simple, expeditious, commercial, and comparatively inexpensive method.for the production of metals and metallic'alloys.

To this end and stated in general terms our invention comprises the reduction of metallic oxids or a mixture of oxids by means of silicon compounds, commonly called silicids, or a mixture of silicids, and for our purpose we find that the silicids of magnesium, calcium, aluminium, barium,strontium, 820., are well adapted for reducing the said oxids to the metallic state, as described.

For the purpose of our invention we prepare, for example, a silicid of aluminium by any of the methods at present known and described. The silicids of this class, which are produced by the electrothermic or electrolytic methods,serve our purpose satisfactorily, and we have found that the highly siliciferous aluminium obtained from crude or unrefined bauxite or other siliciferous ores of alumini um by the electrolytic" method and which is apparently unsuited for any other metallurgical purpose'answers the requirements of our process. I I

For example, let it. be assumed that the object in View is to produce a practically carbonless iron suitable for castings. The pro-' cedure would according to our invention be as follows: The siliciferous aluminium above referred to would'be incorporatedwith the proper quantity of iron oxid, preferably magnetite, to satisfy the reducing energy of both the aluminium and the silicon and heated in the presence of a suitable flux to the temperatureneededforreaction. Lime andfluorspar may be mentioned as fiuxes which may be used. This temperature will vary accordingto the nature of the oxidemployed. When the temperature reaches the point at which reaction can take place, the aluminium, in

Serial N0; 39,915. (No specimens.)

Virtue of its greater chemical energy, will first reduce its quota of the oxid, the reduced iron uniting with the silicon of the aluminium sill cid forming a silicid of iron. Thisisthefirst stage of the operation. The superior aflini oxygen of the remaining iron oxid takes place.

OH! process.

In the foregoing operations it is obvious that where the character of the product makes it necessary to avoid the introduction of car bon they should be carried on in crucibles or furnaces lined with magnesiteor' other suitable materials; also, that fluxes suited to the nature of each case should be used to facili- I rate the proper fusion or alloys.

Having now described our invention and given'examples of its applications, we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letof the resulting metals 1. The herein-described method which consistsin incorporating silicids with metallic oxids, the heat of formation of which is less with metallic oxids, of which the heat of for- In testimony whereo'f we have hereiintd mation is less than that of the oxide of either signed our names;

element of the said silicid, and subjecting the WM. H. GREENE.

mixture to heat and thereby eifecting the pri- WM. H. WAHL. 5 mary reduction of the oxids by the chemical In presence of 7 energy of both elements of the silic'id, sub- FRANK A. EisENB'REY,

stantially as described. FRANK P. ODUNNELIJ. 

